13 Fishing Concept Z – Ball Bearing Free Baitcasting Reel

For as long as I can remember a fishing reel’s quality was judged by its ball bearing count, the more ball bearings, the smoother a reel was considered to be. While there is a certain truth to this, there is a whole lot of other factors that make up a quality reel. 13 fishing takes aim at the ball bearing theory and literally throws it out the window, with the release of the Concept Z, a bearing less bait caster.

Reels without ball bearings aren’t a new thing, but these are usually reserved for the very bottom of a companies reel line up. What makes the Concept Z different from the pack (apart from its striking orange paint scheme) is that it has its been engineered with performance in mind.

A high tech polymer, its used to construct CZB’s (Concept Zero bearings) in place of traditional bearings. This space age material offers a range of advantages over traditional ball bearings, like low friction and minimal noise. The reel will also be equally at home chasing bass in the dams as it will chasing Barra in the salt thanks to the non corrosive properties of the CZB’s.

The CZB bearings will also be available to purchase separately in a kit form to retrofit into any of the reels in the existing 13 Concept range.

The reel also features a host of other features like Dead stop anti-reverse, Japanese Hamai Cut gearing, arrow head line guide and a 6 way centrifugal braking system.

Expect to see the Concept Z in tackle stores around Feb 2018